Abstract
To evade host defense mechanism, many RNA viruses encode suppressor of RNA silencing. The use of RNA silencing suppressors for the improvement of foreign protein production levels in transgenic plants has been suggested, but the mechanisms involved in the process are not necessarily clear. To evaluate the function of RNA silencing suppressors we tested transient gene expression system by microprojectile bombardment. Bioluminescence reporter genes fused to the Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter were co-introduced into plant cells with silencing suppressors from Cucumber mosaic virus-encoded 2b or Peanut clump virus-encoded P15. Monitoring of luminescence levels by cooled CCD camera after introduction of expression vectors suggested that we could observe the enhanced expression levels of reporter genes by co-expression of silencing suppressors in the transient assay system.
